Product Description

Literature and Composition (English 2) is the second volume of the Excellence in Literature curriculum. Each volume is available in print and/or ebook format.

What does Literature and Composition cover?

Literature and Composition is a college-preparatory literature and composition course. Focus works, including novels, short stories, poems, and drama, have been selected for literary quality, and for their place in the historical development of literature. Context readings provide background information about the author, the historical period, and the literary and artistic context of the focus work.

Students will gain an understanding of the development of literature and will practice the skills of close literary analysis through essays, approach papers, and other creative and evaluative writing.

Objectives

By the end of the course, students will:

Understand the process of writing, including the use of tools such as a writer’s handbook, dictionary, and thesaurus.

Have specific understanding of selected representative texts by major authors of the periods studied.

Have a general understanding of the historical and cultural contexts of the works.

Be able to analyze literary texts and present thoughtfully developed ideas in writing.

Demonstrate competence in essay organization, style, and mechanics.

What does Literature and Composition include?

Self-directed: Like all the volumes of the Excellence in Literature curriculum, Literature and Composition is written mostly to the student. The book begins by introducing the purpose and focus of the curriculum, then goes on to provide context information that will be useful as students work through the modules, including chapters on How to Read a Book and How to Write an Essay, as well as Discerning Worldview through Literary Periods.

Formats and Models: This chapter provides detailed instructions for each type of paper, along with a student-written model so parents and students can see exactly what is expected.

Honors: In the listing below, the highlighted book is the focus text, and the honors book is optional additional reading for students who want to earn an honors grade or prepare for a CLEP. A brief chapter in each book provides instructions for the additional writing that will round out the honors grade.

Following the nine modules that outline readings and a week-by-week lesson plan for each of the classic works being studied, you will find reference resources, including instructions for evaluation, reproducible rubric and assignment sheets, and more. You can see an annotated listing of each of the introductory and reference chapters at the “What is included in Excellence in Literature” post.

Module 1: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe

Honors: The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss or The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe

Optional: The book of Jonah (any translation) and Grace Abounding to the Chiefest of Sinners by John Bunyan

Module 2: Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Honors: “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau and “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of our loyal curriculum users shared the following list of the Literature and Composition modules, organized in chronological order. While the original order was created for the purpose of alternating longer, more challenging works with shorter ones, it is interesting and quite appropriate to enjoy the modules chronologically. Either way works just fine. Enjoy!

Renaissance: Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Neo-Classical: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe (c. 1660-1731)

English Romanticism: Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)

Romanticism: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870)

American Romanticism: Walden by Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Romantic Victorian: The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People by Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Modernism: The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)

Modernist/Regional: Death Comes to the Archbishop by Willa Cather (1873-1947)

You and your student will have the print book for reference and evaluation, but the student will be able to view the modules online, and click links (on most computers) to the context resources, rather than typing out the URLs.

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